Despite its demonstrable unit-shifting capabilities, it was all I could do to keep my
finger off the Skip button while auditioning this exceptionally bland production. Any life
that might have remained in the mechanically programmed drums has been smooshed out of
them at the mastering stage; mushy synth layers complacently go through the motions,
draped around unimaginative harmony; and there’s scant arrangement interest beyond a bit
of fader/mute juggling. Despite all that, though, I couldn’t help smiling at one corner
of the main hook lyric, because of the neat way it plays with your expectations. The first
phrase (0:02-0:14) begins with Rita Ora spelling out “R.I.P.”, so when the second
phrase recaps the same melody at 1:15, there’s a momentary impression that she’s
started another acronym “I.D...”, when in fact the lyric actually continues “I
decided...”.

I critiqued this mix from the version on the NOW 82 compilation, and Wikipedia suggests
that the Stargate people were responsible for the production.

Despite my quip
in the main critique, I have ended up listening to this track more than once, not that
it's changed my opinion much... What I do
notice more consciously now, though, is the way the lead vocal's high level only
reinforces my impression that the backing sounds small. Everyone has a pretty clear idea
of how loud a voice is naturally, so if it's mixed much louder than the backing in a mix,
it tends to suggest that the rest of the backing sound is less loud than a single
voice.

With live recorded instruments, the illusion can be partly restored by
the performance intensity of the backing musicians -- they can give the impression that
they're loud via the enthusiasm of their playing and the tonal changes this elicits from
their instruments. With electronic instruments, though, it's trickier to do this, even
with the usual tricks of wide stereo, long delays, and big ambiences, all of which are on
display here.

(And, speaking of stereo, check out how those synths suffer in
mono, which only serves to exacerbate the vocal level issue.)

I f#@*ing hate this song. The main lyrics are wrist slittingly moronic, the sonic palette
is depressingly beige, Tinie Tempah's guest verse was all about the cash and ticking
demographic checkboxes... Aargh, there's nothing bad here that you can't find anywhere
else in the charts but there's something about this song that's really offensive. I can't
get past the above to even bring myself to download it and listen to the mix. I feel sorry
for Mike that he had to listen to it multiple times, I can just turn off the radio.